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What if Rick Perry isn't the last one in?

Rather than marking the end of the period in which new candidates would join the race, [Rick Perry] may have touched off a new phase of interest in the contest by suggesting that the unsettled GOP field still has room for more candidates …

A candidate who joined the race at such a relatively late date would face daunting prospects, with time running short to launch an organization and some bundlers who had been on the sidelines moving toward Perry, whose supporters argue is the one who can best unite a party fractured into Tea Party and establishment camps. But in a volatile year, some top Republicans believe it’s possible that another heavyweight candidate—such as Sarah Palin, Christie, Ryan or even Rudy Giuliani—could still join in.

While Christie continues to maintain that he is not running, Palin continues to leave the door open. Giuliani, who was endorsed by Perry in his 2007 presidential race, has made clear he is still weighing a campaign, and has said it would focus centrally on New Hampshire. He has put a time frame of deciding by the fall.

Ryan, the Wisconsin congressman who is beloved among fiscal conservatives and the Republican intelligentsia, has made some conservative hearts flutter for months—most notably writer William Kristol. His fans argue that despite his connection to the Medicare revamp proposal that Democrats have been using to thump Republicans as “extreme” in swing states, he is proven voice who has shown he can stand up to President Obama. …

Still, despite the many obstacles confronting new GOP candidates at this late stage, some prominent Republicans argue that, whether or not it’s wishful thinking, a new entry is possible given the restlessness in the air.

“There are a lot of uncommitted Republicans, including me,” said Jim Nicholson, a former Republican National Committee chairman. “The key is whether a late entrant with still a pretty heavily populated field can raise enough money to sustain themselves.” …

Frank Donatelli, the chairman of GOPAC and a veteran of the Reagan White House, also argued there is still time, saying, “I think it’s less than 50-50 [that anyone else gets in] but I don’t think that you can rule it out. This is a very volatile year…It wouldn’t be irrational for someone to think they could catch lightning in a bottle.”

Readers' Comments (4)

"What if Perry isn't the last one in?"..........Yeah, what if. What if the democrats don't know who to demonize? What if Ryan and Guiliani get in? It's great fun. Obama's gonna need even more buses. He's even had to dust off the old doofus press secretary, and it's still August. By next August he'll be dragging out Farrakhan trying to solidify his Muslim base.

Sure let more candidates enter the already right winged Republican field. Even Karl Rove has said these candidates have gone too far right. So perhaps another moderate could emerge and actually get some traction. Then of course we may actually have a campaign...but what am I saying (the only moderate is not getting coverage - Huntsman)...the Republicans settle on a moderate in today's political climate - NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.